We're still eating out
Average restaurant tab in Chicago totals $35.17
They don't call it comfort food for nothing. Many Americans still have an appetite for eating out, despite the shaky economy and rising costs, a new Zagat survey of the nation's top restaurants found.
In fact, 83 percent of diners surveyed said they're eating out as often -- if not more -- than they were two years ago.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
But a third say they're paying more attention to prices, and 40 percent are cutting back on appetizers, dessert and booze, the survey found.
In Chicago, the average restaurant tab now totals $35.17 -- up 4.2 percent in two years. That's not as bad as Las Vegas, where dinner out averages $44.44, or New York, at $40.78.
Responding to the pain diners are feeling:
* SushiSamba Rio, 504 N. Wells, has started offering a three-course "recession menu. For $35, you pick an appetizer -- say, Kobe beef with a ponzu gelee, which costs $15 alone -- an entree and a dessert. Bought separately, the three-course meal would average $48, the restaurant's Jim Lee says.
* At R.J. Grunt's, 2056 N. Lincoln Park West, the "Temperature Soup" has become the "Economy Soup," with the price of a cup based on what the Dow Jones industrial average closed at the previous day, divided by 10,000.
* Adobo Grill's just launched an "economy buster" lunch menu at its Lombard location: three tacos -- your choice of filling, rice and beans, a margarita and churros with Mexican hot chocolate, all for $20. "Every restaurant is suffering right now with this economy," says Adobo Grill chef Freddy Sanchez, who has also started offering $1 tacos and $3 appetizers from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays at the restaurant's Wicker Park location. "We're just trying to get people in the door."
* A $15 recession-happy meal at the Sheraton Chicago now offers a choice of flatbread and a martini -- which together usually sell for $22.50.
* Berghoff Cafe, 17 W. Adams, is offering $7.95 "ceiling plate specials" -- roast turkey, turkey meatloaf or roast chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and gravy.